Rob Sorcher

Last updated
Rob Sorcher
Rob Sorcher and Pendleton Ward, May 2015 (cropped)0.jpg
Sorcher at the 2015 Peabody Awards for Adventure Time
Born
Robert Sorcher

(1961-12-22) December 22, 1961 (age 62)
OccupationExecutive producer

Robert Sorcher (born December 22, 1961) is an American television executive producer for Warner Bros. Television Group. Sorcher was formerly executive vice president, executive producer, and global chief content officer at Cartoon Network from 2008 to 2021, and promoted in 2013. [1] He was a producer for We Bare Bears , Adventure Time , Clarence , Regular Show , Steven Universe , Over the Garden Wall , The Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10 . As chief content officer, he was responsible for original content development for Cartoon Network and Cartoon Network Studios. [2] [3] Sorcher previously worked at AMC Network where he introduced scripted originals to the channel, including the Emmy award winning Broken Trail and the Peabody Award winning series; Mad Men and Breaking Bad .

Contents

Career

Rob Sorcher oversaw Cartoon Network Studios [4] in Los Angeles, where he executive produced content for worldwide distribution to 192 countries and 370 million homes. He managed all content, which in the past included series like Steven Universe [5] and Adventure Time , [6] CN Games [7] [8] and the flagship CN app.

Sorcher's career worked with several advertisement companies such as Grey Advertising, Griffin-Bacal, and Benton & Bowles.

He also worked for AMC Network as its executive vice president of programming and production. [9] He was credited with leading the network to tremendous growth, thanks to his introduction of scripted originals and Emmy-award winning series such as Mad Men and [10] [11] [12] Breaking Bad , which were both named by the New York Times among the 20 best TV dramas since The Sopranos, [13] and the mini-series Broken Trail . [1]

Prior to AMC, Sorcher was EVP and GM of USA Network for a short time prior to the sudden appointment of Doug Herzog.

Sorcher had also served as EVP of Programming/Production at Fox Family Channel, [14] and earlier in his career worked as the first general manager of Cartoon Network with the creation of his The Cartoonstitute variety project. He moved to start his own production company. [15]

Selected credits

Television series – executive producer

Year(s)Title
2020 The Fungies!
2020–2021 Tig n' Seek
2020–2021 Close Enough
2020–2021 Adventure Time: Distant Lands
2019–2020 Steven Universe Future
2019–2021 Primal
2019–2021 Infinity Train
2019–2020 Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart
2019–2021 Victor and Valentino
2018–2021 Summer Camp Island
2018–present DIY
2018–2021 Craig of the Creek
2018–2021 Apple & Onion
2017–2019 OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
2017 Samurai Jack
2016–2021 Ben 10
2016–2019 Mighty Magiswords
2016–2019 The Powerpuff Girls
2015 Long Live the Royals
2015–2019 We Bare Bears
2014 Over the Garden Wall
2014–2018 Clarence
2014–2016 Mixels
2013–2019 Steven Universe
2013–2017 Uncle Grandpa
2013 Incredible Crew
2012–2014 Ben 10: Omniverse
2012–2013 Level Up
2011–2012 Secret Mountain Fort Awesome
2011–2013 The Problem Solverz
2010–2011 Robotomy
2010–2011 Sym-Bionic Titan
2010 Tower Prep
2010–2017 Regular Show
2010 The Cartoonstitute
2010–2013 Generator Rex
2010–2012 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
2010–2018 Adventure Time

Other programs – executive producer

Year(s)Title
2016Good Jubies
2014 The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed
2013–present Cartoon Network Shorts Department
2013Stop Bullying: Speak Up – Special
2011 Level Up
2011–2014 Hall of Game Awards

Primetime Emmy awards

YearAwardNominated workResult
2018 Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program Adventure Time Nominated
Steven Universe Nominated
We Bare Bears Nominated
2017 Adventure Time Won
Steven Universe Nominated
2016 Adventure Time Nominated
Steven Universe Nominated
The Powerpuff Girls Nominated
2015 Regular Show Nominated
Steven Universe Nominated
Adventure Time Won
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program Over the Garden Wall Won
2014 Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program Adventure Time Nominated
Regular Show Nominated
2012 Adventure Time Nominated
Regular Show Won
2011 Adventure Time Nominated
Regular Show Nominated
2010 Uncle Grandpa Nominated
Adventure Time Nominated

Other awards

YearAwardNominated workResult
2019 Peabody Award Steven Universe Won
2019 GLAAD Media Award Steven Universe Won
2016 BAFTA Awards We Bare Bears Won

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Network Studios</span> American animation studio

Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and was founded on October 21, 1994, as a division of Hanna-Barbera, until the latter was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation on March 12, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams Street</span> Atlanta-based animation production studio

Williams Street Productions, LLC, d/b/a Williams Street and formerly known as Ghost Planet Industries, is an American animation and live action television production studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the in-house production arm of Adult Swim. Mike Lazzo and Keith Crofford oversaw operations for the building for most of its existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMC (TV channel)</span> American TV channel

AMC is an American basic cable television channel that first launched in 1984, and is the namesake flagship property of AMC Networks. The channel's name is an acronym for its original full title, American Movie Classics. Since 2002, the full name has been de-emphasized as a result of a major shift in its programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Television Studios</span> Television arm of Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television, is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros., a flagship studio of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Launched on March 21, 1955 by William T. Orr, it serves as a television production arm of DC Comics productions by DC Studios and, alongside Paramount Global's CBS Studios, The CW, the latter that launched in 2006 and WBD has a 12.5% ownership stake. It also serves as the distribution arm of WBD units HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Register</span> American television producer

Sam Register is an American film and television producer and businessman. He is currently the president of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.

Michael Allen Lazzo is a retired American television producer and the former executive vice president in charge of the Adult Swim programming block of Cartoon Network, and its production arm, Williams Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Crofford</span> American television executive

Keith Crofford is the former executive vice president of production for Adult Swim, the adult-oriented division of Cartoon Network, and general manager of Williams Street. He was executive producer for several Williams Street in-house productions such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Brak Show and Squidbillies. He also served as the executive producer for Williams Street out-of-house productions such as Sealab 2021, Robot Chicken, Tom Goes to the Mayor, Minoriteam and Moral Orel. Crofford was also the executive in charge of production for Adult Swim's The Venture Bros. More recently, he has worked on the Adult Swim animated production Primal; for his work on the episode "Plague of Madness", he was listed as a recipient of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Reed</span> American actor

Adam Brooks Reed is an American voice actor, animator, screenwriter, television producer and television director. Reed created, writes, and voice acts the FX/FXX adult animated comedy series Archer, which premiered in September 2009. He also voice acted, wrote, directed and produced the television series Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo, with his co-creator and creative partner Matt Thompson.

<i>The Cartoonstitute</i> American TV series or program

The Cartoonstitute was a planned Cartoon Network project created by Cartoon Network's executive Rob Sorcher that would have been a showcase for animated shorts created without the interference of network executives and focus testing. It was headed by Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti. Thirty-nine shorts for the project were in development at Cartoon Network Studios, but only 14 of these were completed. Eventually, balancing 5 upcoming shows and adding another proved difficult and the project was scrapped. Of the shorts that were made, only Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa got greenlit to become animated series. On May 7, 2010, Cartoon Network released nearly all of the shorts to their website. The only shorts not released were Maruined, 3 Dog Band, and Joey to the World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Network</span> American cable television channel

Cartoon Network is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is the flagship property of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also oversees Boomerang, Cartoonito, Discovery Family, Adult Swim, and Toonami. The channel is headquartered at 1050 Techwood Drive NW in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bill Schultz is an animation producer. He was born in New York City and grew up in River Forest, a suburb near Chicago, Illinois, moving to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Illinois Champaign - Urbana Campus. He has worked on television shows such as Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, The Transformers, and produced others, notably The Simpsons andKing of the Hill and now the founder and CEO of Home Plate Entertainment. Schultz started Home Plate Entertainment in 2010, after stepping down from his 12-year partnership with Splash Entertainment.

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, 2010, and concluded on September 27, 2010, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The series is based on a short produced for Frederator's Nicktoons Network animation incubator series Random! Cartoons. The season follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, and BMO.

<i>Steven Universe</i> 2013–19 American animated TV series

Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe, who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral-based aliens named Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst, and Pearl —in the fictional town of Beach City. Steven, who is half-Gem, has adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind. The pilot was first shown in May 2013, and the series ran for five seasons, from November 2013 to January 2019. The TV film Steven Universe: The Movie was released in September 2019, and an epilogue limited series, Steven Universe Future, ran from December 2019 to March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Sugar</span> American animator and screenwriter

Rebecca Rea Sugar is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and musician. She is best known for being the creator of the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, making her the first non-binary person to independently create a series for the network; prior to coming out as non-binary, Sugar was described as the first woman to do so. Until 2013, Sugar was a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series Adventure Time. Her work on the two series has earned her seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Sugar is bisexual, non-binary, and genderqueer, using both she/her and they/them pronouns. Sugar's queerness has served as the inspiration for her to stress the importance of LGBT representation in the arts, especially in children's entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Sapan</span> American television executive

Josh Sapan is a media executive who served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Networks, as well as the Executive Vice Chairman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Weidenfeld</span> American television producer

Nicholas Rabb Weidenfeld is an American television producer and executive who led program development for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and Fox's Animation Domination High-Def programming blocks. He won producing Emmy Awards in 2012 and 2013 for the series Childrens Hospital. Since 2016, he has been the president of programming for television channel Viceland.

Cartoon Network is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is part of The Cartoon Network, Inc. unit of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery which primarily focuses on animated programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Network and LGBT representation</span>

Cartoon Network, an American TV channel which launched in 1992, and Adult Swim, its adult-oriented nighttime programming block which launched in 2001, has regularly featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters in its programming.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rob Sorcher, Mike Lazzo Upped at Cartoon Network, Adult Swim". The Hollywood Reporter . 8 July 2013.
  2. Marechal, AJ (8 July 2013). "Turner Broadcasting Taps Key Exec Roles for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network".
  3. "CN Doc Short".
  4. "cartoonnetworkstudios.com".
  5. "'Steven Universe' Creator Looks Back on Her Groundbreaking Series as It Comes to a Close". 18 March 2020.
  6. "HBO Max Brings Back 'Adventure Time' With Four Specials From Cartoon Network Studios". 23 October 2019.
  7. "A new Cartoon Network show finds inspiration in Columbia, Md., the animator's home town". The Washington Post .
  8. "Cartoon Network Keeps Innovating With "Mighty Magiswords" App". 11 November 2016.
  9. "Mad Men's True Story, From Start to Finish".
  10. "We Live In The Peak TV World 'Mad Men' Created 10 Years Ago". July 19, 2017.
  11. Martin, Brett (2014). Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos to Mad Men and The Wire to Breaking Bad. Penguin. ISBN   0143125699
  12. Thompson, Derek (2018). Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction. Penguin. ISBN   9781524735081
  13. "The 20 Best TV Dramas Since 'The Sopranos'". The New York Times . 10 January 2019.
  14. "CN's Sorcher, Adult Swim's Lazzo Get Promotions". 8 July 2013.
  15. Andreeva, Nellie (2020-08-28). "Cartoon Network's Rob Scorcher Segues To Production Deal, Sam Register Adds Cartoon Network Studios Oversight, Amy Friedman Joins Net As Senior Advisor". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-08-31.